Some one just sent me this article what do you think what are you going to do?


http://299days.com/ill-come-to-your-place-when-shtf-no-you-wont/

(This post is something you can send to your friends or print out and hand to them when SHTF.)

Dear Friend:

I love my friends, but I will shoot you if I have to.  I’m serious.  Here’s why.

I tried to persuade you to prepare for what’s coming and, in the process, revealed that to you that I’m preparing.  You realized that I have food, guns, etc., and ended up saying, half kidding but half serious, “I’ll come to your place when SHTF.”

No you won’t.  I will shoot you.  If you threaten me and my family, I will use force to defend against any threat.  And showing up at my place hungry and unprepared is a threat to me.  You will eat my food and use up my medical supplies, generator, firewood, etc.  That’s less of these life-saving things for me and my family.  That’s a threat.

Is this greed on my part?  No.  I will take care of the truly needy – those who cannot take care of themselves.  But you are different.  Very different.  You had plenty of chances to prepare for yourself.

But what did you do?  You spent the weekends watching football, went on expensive vacations, and never made your spouse mad at you with your “crazy” ideas that something bad was happening.  You didn’t do shit because… you would just come to my place.  Problem solved, right?  You didn’t need to spend time, money, and create domestic strife because I did that all for you.

Not.  Why should I spend my time, money, and stress just so you can waltz into my place and live happily ever after?  I’m a nice guy, but – really? – I’m going to spend my (very limited) free time, disposable income, and domestic tranquility just so you can have a leisurely life and more material comforts pre-Collapse while I don’t?

Why do you think I will sacrifice enormous amounts of my time and money so you can enjoy yourself while I’m slaving away?  Would you assume you could come over and leave your broken car at my house?  That I would just spend thousands of dollars on parts and several weekends fixing it and then hand it over to you with a smile – just because I’m a “good guy”?  Would anyone expect that?

You do, apparently.  You actually expect to waltz over to my cabin and receive – with a smile – thousands of dollars of food and other supplies that took me all my weekends to acquire and store.

So, my grasshopper friend (as in the story of the grasshopper and the ant), here is your official warning: if your “plan” for your and your family’s safety is to come to my place, you’re wrong.  When you show up, I’ll ask you to leave.  When you don’t, I’ll point a gun in your face.  If you refuse to leave, I will shoot you.  You are a threat to me.

You had years of time and very clear warnings to get ready.  But you didn’t.  Hey, I love football but haven’t been able to watch a game in a few years; I’ve been fixing up the cabin, buying supplies, and training with the Team.  I spent a lot of money doing all these things so I haven’t gone on a long vacation in… forever.  I have had several difficult times with my wife because of all the prepping I’m doing; I could have easily done what you did, which is just say “Yes, dear” and not prepare because she didn’t want you to.

I hope this message jolted you.  There’s still some time.  Go prep.  Please understand that your plan cannot be “I’ll come to your place.”  I don’t want to shoot you.

I tell all my friends to feel free to come over. I plan to use their bodies as sandbags.

yup.

Now pretty please with a cherry on top, prepare while you still can... BEFORE the SHTF of which at some point it will happen in some form or another.

I am not a prepper.  I just have weapons/ammo, but if such an event did happen I would welcome any friend to come and join me holding down an area and gathering assets needed to survive.  I really don't like the " me against the world" idea and with a group could stand a better chance of survival.  A group would also attract or deter the right or wrong people during a SHTF situation.  Animals and man have done this since the beginning of time to survive.

I agree with the strength in numbers by what do you guys plane on eating and drinking?

This for me too. I always tell them there will be a lot of work to be done. No free rides.

It's obvious...

Fine. Come over. I'm not above eating people with the food runs out

It's a bit over the top...

If your "friends" are saying that to you, one of two things are happening:

1. you are breaking OPSEC about your preps with the wrong people.
2. you could be doing better helping like minded people to be prepared for their own SHTF.

Then they're not, nor have never been friends.  I can halfway understand the conundrum when it comes to family, but you have a choice on who you associate with outside of family.  Unless it was a critical occupation need such as a doctor, ER nurse, owner of a construction company, etc., I'm not worried.  A few suspect my level of preparation, but all of those acquaintances are the types to already be prepared to some extent.  Beyond any initial SHTF, recovery will include members of the community; those are the ones you need to work with; not some college or work buddy jackass that only stocks beer and ammo (well, I may make an exception if they have enough beer and ammo).

Those I consider friends wouldn't be coming to my house unless their house was destroyed; and then I would make an exception...

ROCK6

"Make sure you bring plenty of supplies. We will have bugged out to our SHTF location by the time you show up. There will be nothing left for you to use."

tell them that they can come over but you're planning on eating their livers with some freeze dried fava beans and a nice chianti.

I have a few folks in my group whose political affiliation, has me keeping them around as a potential food source or for forced labor. Despite my needs for validation, they are a doc and a nurse so I might overlook their character flaws for the good of the group.

I'm reading through book one of his 299 Days series right now. The books are based off his life and experience becoming a prepper to some degree, obviously the collapse has not happened yet. He tells about assembly similar minded guys, and their family's, who prep and assembling what he refers to as "The Team". You can look at his FB page and see pics of the real "team".  So he does have some strength in numbers. I think his use of "friends" may be very wide and general, IMO. I always thought if something bad ever kicked off I would do what I could to help "friends" but I on a Nutnfancy vid about food storage the lady hosting him said something very interesting. "it's easy to be helpful and friendly on day 2, but by day 11 your not so friendly and helpful anymore."

If anyone is looking for a good read I think the 299 days series has a lot of potential. Like I said I'm on book 1 of his 10 part series, I'm loving it so far.

I have targeted conversations with people about various thoughts of prepping.

1. Financial prepping: start with having 1 months worth of expenses on hand in a safe IN CASH, next have 9 months + worth of money in a SEPERATE savings account (preferably NOT at the bank your checking account is with and I generally recommend a Credit Union for this account).  Next after that you should be  maxing out your retirement plan (401K or whatever) and if you have kids definitely should have a 529 smart plan for each of them then lastly a non qualified account to be used before you touch any of the qualified assets after you retire.

2. Food prepping: having 2 weeks worth of non-perishable food stuffs to be cooked and eaten if the power goes out, next have an additional 30 days worth of non-perishables that are designed for long term storage.  A small inexpensive generator is a good tie in for me here so that if the power goes out you can prevent the loss of the perishables and use those first (my most common recommendation is the champion 2K Watt inverter model)

3. Comfort prepping:  I usually start with having heavy blankets for those in colder climates and fans for those in hotter climates (if you live in an area that has a wide range then in ARFCOM fashion get both), board games/ card games to maintain sanity, some form of portable lighting like a small kit from GZ for a central meeting point and a few of the LED lanterns that run on AA batts to placed in bedrooms and bathroom (shitting in the dark sucks).  I also recommend that if you go the lantern route to keep a 48 pack of batteries on hand to feed those lanterns but rotate through them by using them for remotes and kids toys.  next step up from this is now getting a larger (IE 4-6K Watt) generator to run a small ac and a TV, this allows for you to run the big guy during the day for the ac and TV and then at night just run the inverter model and keep your "profile" lower

4. Safety prepping: This varies based on whom I am talking to but I do discuss a FULLY equipped medical kit, meant to treat everything from a simple scrap & sunburn all the way out to a minor stab wound or gunshot wound.  I also discuss here the low profile concept during extended outages, as I regurgitate a statement read here once "the veneer of society is only 9 meals deep)  Depending the reaction to my comment about treating a gunshot wound dictates weither or not I have the firearms discussion.

So you won't do anything to make a short or long term event more comfortable for you/your family, you have guns and ammo and hope to meet up with your friends to gather the assets needed to survive in the event of a SHTF situation - do I have it right?

You're doing it wrong.

Anyone remember when the SF was the high-brow corner of Arfcom?

The OP has it right. My friends who are not preppers but know that I am, which are very few like two, know if they figure out my bug out location either I or another of my team will politely tell them to leave, if they don't the consequences are on them. (They won't find our place anyway, but just in case)

This, depending in the situation I am bugging out to a seconded location. When I told my bro-in law this he was like damn I  was coming over to your place
He has some preparedness stuff, but nothing like what I have built up.
I have plenty of food and water for my family I don't have enough to feed every one I don't mind helping out with what I can but how/when do you cut them off?

The other issue is what SHTF is going to happen that effects what you do. Local natural disaster, economic break down, emp, etc etc.

Look what happened in New Orleans that place turned into a shit show.

I will openly share with my friends and their families to the point of pain and beyond. They don't have to please me to earn my favor.

I respectfully disagree with that. In a few years that 529 & 401k  cash exc...wont be worth anything.  The u.s. will see hyperinflation soon.

This I know which is why if they process what I am saying and then at a later date come back with more questions/ recommendations I also mention buying small amounts of physical silver to TRY TO offset inflation.

Doesn't sound like that guy has too many friends to begin with.

I won't shoot my friends. I'll need them.

This.



I don't hide my preps from the people who are close enough to me to be in my home. They are part of me and my lifestyle. Anyone who is close enough to me to see them is close enough to me to share them; and partner with.



 

I think you can catch this on netflix....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shelter_(The_Twilight_Zone)

Or use their bodies as fertilizer.  


Vulcan94

I don't expect others to think like I do, nor prepare like I do. I don't know many other people who have the skill sets I'd want in my camp. I DO have family, and they would always be welcome because they are FAMILY. My immediate family would bring solid skill sets. I'd welcome others that could contribute and pull their own weight. Freeloaders would be free to leave...

ZA

Beans, bullets or babes.  No one survives for free.

In hard times folks you thought were friends could easily become threats and those who rub you the wrong way turn into assets.

My first thought as well.  I hope "gathering assets" isn't a plan to loot....  I don't know what he meant, and don't want to put words in his mouth though.

Knowing ahead of time that you are deficient is reason enough to START prepping for real now.  Competition amongst armed folks to gather the essentials for survival after a major event can be lethal for all involved.

Bring lots of supplies or a useful skill, or stay out of rifle range.

Having lived through the prepper boom of the 80s and seen guys go through bankruptcy because they were sure that war with the Soviets was going to destroy the economy, I tend to play it a bit more traditional with my finances. I try to cover the most likely scenarios first.

I can see that with experience comes knowledge but it cannot explain 17 trillion dollars in debt. With printing all the money at some time there must be a consequence

Indeed. While the (now former) Soviet Union did collapse, there are many socialists/communists in this country that want to reincarnate them here. Still, our economic predicament is unprecedented in not only US history, but world history. It would seem prudent to have some portion of one's assets/investments in gold and silver. Many financial planners recommend between 5-10%. (Interestingly, the %age of recommended PMs has been steadily increasing over the last decade. Wonder why?)

We don't even need a total collapse to see big problems just getting by. Remember the late 70's? Inflation was running at 20%, interest rates were sky high making it all but impossible to borrow, and unemployment was skyrocketing. And that was just a garden variety recession, albeit a strong one. The US is a much different place now, with much, much less headroom left in the economy. A major downturn like the 70s would be much, much worse.

IMHO, those that cannot foresee how the dollar could possibly collapse have not been paying attention. Further, there are many, many people that have much of their wealth tied up in either their house or their dollar-denominated accounts (401Ks, investment accounts). If the dollar does collapse and we go into a hyperinflation scenario, these people will basically have nothing. What they assumed was "wealth" will vaporize, they will be unable to pay the taxes on their house, and they will be unable to sell their house because nobody else will have "money" to buy it with. Like my dad used to say about the Great Depression: "A loaf of bread was only a quarter back then. The problem was finding a quarter."

Yeah, that mindset is completely wrong IMHO.  Maybe that would apply to useless losers who want to sit on the couch and drink beer, but I'm not friends with those people.

Don't forget it might be YOUR HOUSE that gets flooded/catches on fire/has a tree fall on it, and you'll need a place to go.  Would kind of suck if your "friends" shot you when you came over.

It is one thing to help or even support other people during a short term crisis.

It is quite another thing to have them move in with you more or less permanently.

It would be very difficult to take someone in for a while and then throw them out because the crisis hasn't ended yet.

I like to help other people, but I think it would be better to help them have their own survival plan rather than just support them.

Help them to plan now, or be stuck with supporting them later, or be forced by circumstances to put a gun in their face and say no.

So true...  Good post by the way!  Its not if, its when.

If they and others are aware of your preps and thus saying "I'll come to your place" then you have failed miserably at OPSEC and will surely have visitors and potential adversaries if/ when TSHTF. None of my friends or family (outside of my wife, kids, and elderly parents) have any idea of my supplies and I keep it that way for this exact reason. Fuck em it's not my job to supplement them for their inability to prepare.

ETA: my comments weren't directed at you OP only in general as to why I don't share any of my plans with the people I know.

I tell 'em, "You won't make it much past the front gate." He didn't think that was very funny

I don't think anyone is saying that a financial collapse is impossible. I'm merely pointing out that you have to be careful about what you do to prepare. If I had ran from the market after the big drop in 08, I would be out many tens of thousands of dollars, and that was just in low risk stocks. Many people here advocated staying out of the market citing the obvious imminent collapse that never came. Now I'm up well above where I was in 2007. Diversify your preps just like you diversify your portfolio. Having a portion of you portfolio as well as preps in PMs. Just don't ignore your 401k and savings banking on a financial collapse.

There is still a lot of real wealth in the US as well as manufacturing. We are still a technological leader. The nation is still able to borrow. There are definitely problems ahead, but we are not on the verge of hyperinflation or economic collapse. Avoiding traditional investment and future planning seems like a bad idea to me.

Those with self gratifying, self absorbed, short term perspectives, and basically a "grasshopper" mentality will eventually turn on you.     Psychology is reflected through behavior.  Pick your friends wisely.

Yep. Too many people saying stuff in here that does not serve to enlighten, but rather to incite ill-will. Personally, I get tired of all the cracks about eating other people. Cannibalism is morally reprehensible, and the joke of it has worn thin.

What can we do to steer this drifting ship back on course?

The stuff you gather to survive doesn't belong to you.  Are you planning on taking other people's food to survive? What if they want to keep it?  Are you going to raid Walmart like millions of other fools? We can all tell you have not thought this through.

Not directed at you in particular, but this seems like a good post to piggy-back on.





You can hide your preps but you will not be able to hide the fact that you are well fed and healthy. It will not be a secret to anyone that you have something that they do not, ESPECIALLY those who were once 'your friends' during the before times. You are going to have conflict, not because you told them that you are prepared, but because you did not. When your formerly close network is out in the cold while you stay fat and happy, they will notice. Any moron will notice. It doesn't matter if they saw your preps before, they will know you have them; and hey, they thought you were friends... TEOTWAWKI does not mean everyone stays indoors and never sees the rest of the community ever again. They will know. And you will have a very, very big problem with the resentment you have brought upon yourself from your former 'friends'. You aren't hiding the fact that you are getting by better than they are...





...That brings me to a place to amplify a great point that was made further up-thread. Choose your friends wisely during the good times. And then, include them in your lifestyle. I have a general request with the family members who live in my home (mostly, this applies to my kids) that we keep tight OPSEC with everyone, until we decide they are our friends. I ask my sons to never mention our preparedness until I decide to show it. If a person or a family has become friends enough to come into our house, then they are generally friends enough to share our life with. Otherwise, we don't invite them in. In that regard, I have made the choice during good times who I am willing to partner with (and share what I have with them) during hard times. Thankfully, I generally choose friends for myself who don't need to be supported, but who understand that a time may come where we can combine what we have and be better off, together.





When the world goes pear-shaped, you are going to need far more than a secret stash of preps. For a weekend power outage, you might not need anyone else. For most situations longer than that, however, you will need a support network; and they will need you. If you wait until after the event, it will be too late to build that network of trust. You will need partners who can pool resources (not just food) -- labor, security, news, knowledge, companionship... They used to call this 'tribe'. It is bigger than family, but close enough to have credibility. Without your tribe, you are going nowhere. The best part about tribes is you get to pick who they are! You won't, however, likely be able to integrate yourself into another tribe after hard times come. You have to build that network in advance.





This is a survival forum. This is fundamental to survival. You aren't getting out of what's coming by yourself. None of us are.
 
 

After being properly admonished for earlier comments making light of the opportunity for cannibalism as a means of dealing with less desirable friends and family members, I'll offer as propitiation for my sins, some points to consider which differ from the OP's Ant kicks out Grasshopper approach.

You might get away with kicking your friends and neighbors to the curb if you live on a island or outback in the deep dark woods all alone. However, most of us have friends and neighbors who we will be dealing with, some prep, most do not. One thing is certain, you're going to find it difficult going it all alone if/when zombie hordes start roaming your little piece of paradise. You may not like the not so funny jokes your friends make about your prepping lifestyle(maybe it frightens them), but you are going to be dealing with many folks that aren't good ants like yourself in a long term event, like it or not. Your little community, as in most disasters, will band together for self protection and the sharing of skills and resources.  It seems like alot of groups think they are going to be the only group in town. To me, in an suburban area, I suspect we're going to be dealing with a large number of groups. If we ALL want to be successful it might be good if we get along......I suspect that WROL will not be a clean cut us vs them scenario. It will rather be a constant mixture of shifting allegiances and political? alliances that emerge spontaneously from one area to the next(and sometimes within your own group). In such a situation one of your most valuable assets will be individuals who excel at negotiation. IMHO negotiation skills and getting along with others should be a cherished skillet. We should have a readiness to build alliances with unlikely partners. This may require us to set aside some preconceived notions of whom we presently deem as undesirable or disagreeable. What we don't need need is a bunch of Rambos in the group destroying the chance for developing meaningful coalitions. By creating a smart cohesive team of alliance builders, coalition builders, your going to make a big difference in your groups success. If you choose to go the Rambo route, keep in mind that the extent to which you become a negative influence in your community will influence whether or not the surrounding groups will form a coalition to limit your groups negative impact  and may very well eliminate your group entirely. As far as your friends go, do you really want the asshat up the block, whom you don't like much at all right now and less so under stress, covering your six or would you rather have a old friend doing so? Are you big enough and see the value in forgiving your friend for not having the keen foresight to stockpile food and ammo(that's a big step for some folks to make). I rather suspect that the folks knocking at my door will be family and neighbors, my friends will be dealing with the same issues in their communities. However, my friends will always find the door open and we'll all work together to figure it out as we go along. Wheat is cheap, people that I care about are not.

After seeing the EBT thing, I assure you, my dumb ass is going nowhere near a Walmart during shtf.

This. a much more likely scenario than pulling up the draw bridge and smugly waving fat fingered hands from high atop the castle wall at the poor disheveled mass of grasshoppers below.

There is a hell of a lot of chest thumping going on in this thread.  I wish I was so set up and prepared in every aspect of my life that I didn't need any help from anyone ever...

Where is the "like" button?